1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that ahave been accomplished among us, 2 bjust as those who cfrom the beginning were deyewitnesses and eministers of fthe word ghave delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write han orderly account for you, imost excellent jTheophilus, 4 that you may have kcertainty concerning the things lyou have been taught.
5 mIn the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,1 nof othe division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both prighteous before God, walking qblamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because rElizabeth was barren, and sboth were advanced in years.
8 Now twhile he was serving as priest before God when uhis division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot vto enter wthe temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people xwere praying youtside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of zthe altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and afear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for byour prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and cyou shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will drejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be egreat before the Lord. And fhe must not drink wine or strong gdrink, and ghe will be hfilled with the Holy Spirit, ieven from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and jhe will go before him kin the spirit and power of Elijah, lto turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and mthe disobedient to the wisdom of the just, nto make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, o“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am pGabriel. qI stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, ryou will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in sthe temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in sthe temple. And the kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And uwhen his time of vservice was ended, he went to his home.
24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, wto take away my reproach among people.”
26 In the sixth month the angel xGabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named yNazareth, 27 zto a virgin betrothed2 to a man whose name was Joseph, aof the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, bO favored one, cthe Lord is with you!”3 29 But dshe was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for eyou have found favor with God. 31 And behold, fyou will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and gyou shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of hthe Most High. And the Lord God iwill give to him the throne of jhis father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob kforever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”4
35 And the angel answered her, l“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of hthe Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born5 will be called mholy—nthe Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her owho was called barren. 37 For pnothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant6 of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And qthe angel departed from her.
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into rthe hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth swas filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, t“Blessed are you among women, and ublessed is vthe fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of wmy Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And xblessed is she who believed that there would be7 a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
46 And Mary said,
y“My zsoul amagnifies the Lord,
47 band my zspirit rejoices in cGod my Savior,
48 for dhe has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations ewill call me blessed;
49 for fhe who is mighty ghas done great things for me,
and hholy is his name.
50 And ihis mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 jHe has shown strength with his arm;
khe has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 jhe has brought down the mighty from their thrones
land exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled mthe hungry with good things,
and the rich nhe has sent away empty.
54 He has ohelped phis servant Israel,
qin remembrance of his mercy,
55 ras he spoke to our fathers,
qto Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord shad shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And ton the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; uhe shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And vthey made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for wa writing tablet and wrote, u“His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 xAnd immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue yloosed, and he spoke, zblessing God. 65 And afear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all bthe hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them claid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For dthe hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zechariah ewas filled with the Holy Spirit and fprophesied, saying,
68 g“Blessed be the Lord hGod of Israel,
for he has ivisited and jredeemed his people
69 and khas raised up la horn of salvation for us
min the house of his servant David,
70 nas ohe spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 pthat we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 qto show the mercy promised to our fathers
and rto remember his holy scovenant,
73 tthe oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him uwithout fear,
75 vin holiness and righteousness before him wall our days.
76 And you, child, will be called xthe prophet of ythe Most High;
for zyou will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
ain the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the btender mercy of our God,
whereby cthe sunrise shall dvisit us8 efrom on high
79 to fgive light to gthose who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
80 jAnd the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was kin the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
1 In those days la decree went out from mCaesar Augustus that all the world should be nregistered. 2 This was the first nregistration when9 Quirinius owas governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up pfrom Galilee, from the town of qNazareth, to Judea, to rthe city of David, which is called sBethlehem, tbecause he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,10 who was with child. 6 And twhile they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and uwrapped him in swaddling cloths and vlaid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in wthe inn.11
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord xappeared to them, and ythe glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all zthe people. 11 For aunto you is born this day in bthe city of David ca Savior, who is dChrist ethe Lord. 12 And fthis will be a sign for you: you will find a baby gwrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel ha multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 i“Glory to God jin the highest,
jand on earth kpeace lamong those with whom he is pleased!”12
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby mlying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But nMary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, oglorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
21 And pat the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, qhe was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
22 And rwhen the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem sto present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in tthe Law of the Lord, u“Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in tthe Law of the Lord, v“a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was wrighteous and xdevout, ywaiting for zthe consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not asee death before he had seen bthe Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when cthe parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and dblessed God and said,
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant13 depart ein peace,
faccording to your word;
30 for gmy eyes have seen your hsalvation
31 ithat you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 ja light for revelation to the Gentiles,
33 And mhis father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed nfor the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign othat is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
36 And there was pa prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.14 She did not depart from the temple, qworshiping with rfasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were swaiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 And when they had performed everything according to tthe Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of uNazareth. 40 vAnd the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
41 Now whis parents went xto Jerusalem every year at ythe Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, zthey went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast awas ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. wHis parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, bsitting among cthe teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when his parents15 saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, dyour father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that eI must be in fmy Father’s house?”16 50 And gthey did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And hhis mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
52 And Jesus iincreased in wisdom and in stature17 and in ifavor with God and man.
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of jTiberius Caesar, kPontius Pilate lbeing governor of Judea, and mHerod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during nthe high priesthood of Annas and oCaiaphas, pthe word of God came to qJohn the son of Zechariah in rthe wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming sa baptism of repentance tfor the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in uthe book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
v“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
w‘Prepare the way of the Lord,18
make his paths straight.
5 xEvery valley shall be filled,
yand every mountain and hill shall be made low,
zand the crooked shall become straight,
and the rough places shall become level ways,
7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, c“You brood of dvipers! Who warned you to flee from ethe wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits fin keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, g‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from hthese stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. iEvery tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 And the crowds asked him, j“What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, k“Whoever has two tunics19 is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 lTax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, jwhat shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, m“Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, jwhat shall we do?” And he said to them, m“Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your nwages.”
15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, owhether he might be pthe Christ, 16 qJohn answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but rhe who is mightier than I is coming, sthe strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you twith the Holy Spirit and ufire. 17 His vwinnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to wgather the wheat into his barn, xbut the chaff he will burn with yunquenchable fire.”
18 So zwith many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. 19 But aHerod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that bhe locked up John in prison.
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when cJesus also had been baptized and was praying, dthe heavens were opened, 22 and ethe Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and fa voice came from heaven, g“You are my beloved Son;20 with you I am well pleased.”21
23 Jesus, hwhen he began his ministry, was about ithirty years of age, being jthe son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, kthe son of Zerubbabel, the son lof Shealtiel,22 the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of mNathan, the son of David, 32 nthe son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 othe son of Jacob, pthe son of Isaac, qthe son of Abraham, rthe son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
1 sAnd Jesus, tfull of the Holy Spirit, ureturned from the Jordan and was led vby the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for wforty days, xbeing tempted by the devil. wAnd he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, yhe was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are zthe Son of God, command athis stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, b“It is written, c‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 dAnd the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you eI will give all this authority and their glory, efor it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, f“It is written,
g“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and hhim only shall you serve.’”
9 iAnd he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are jthe Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,
k“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’
11 and
k“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, l‘You shall not mput the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him nuntil an opportune time.
14 oAnd Jesus returned pin the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and qa report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And rhe taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
16 sAnd he came to tNazareth, where he had been brought up. And uas was his custom, vhe went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up wto read. 17 And xthe scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 y“The Spirit of the Lord zis upon me,
because he has anointed me
to aproclaim good news to the poor.
bHe has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and crecovering of sight to the blind,
dto set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 eto proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and fsat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were gfixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today hthis Scripture ihas been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at jthe gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, k“Is not this lJoseph’s son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, m‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did nat Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, ono prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when pthe heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them qbut only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And rthere were many lepers23 in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, sbut only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and tdrove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But upassing through their midst, he went away.
31 vAnd he wwent down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And xhe was teaching them yon the Sabbath, 32 and zthey were astonished at his teaching, zfor his word possessed authority. 33 And xin the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha!24 aWhat have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? bI know who you are—cthe Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus drebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And ethey were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? eFor with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And freports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
38 gAnd he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now hSimon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and irebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.
40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and jhe laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 kAnd demons also came out of many, lcrying, “You are mthe Son of God!” But he rebuked them and kwould not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was nthe Christ.
42 oAnd when it was day, he departed and went pinto a desolate place. And qthe people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, r“I must spreach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching tin the synagogues of Judea.25
1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by uthe lake of Gennesaret, 2 vand he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were wwashing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And xhe sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, y“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, zwe toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, athey enclosed a large number of fish, and atheir nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. bAnd they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, c“Depart from me, for dI am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”26 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, ethey left everything and followed him.
12 While he was in one of the cities, fthere came a man full of leprosy.27 And when he saw Jesus, he gfell on his face and begged him, “Lord, hif you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus28 stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him ito tell no one, but “go and show jyourself to the priest, and kmake an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, lfor a proof to them.” 15 mBut now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But nhe would withdraw to desolate places and npray.
17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and oteachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And pthe power of the Lord was with him to heal.29 18 qAnd behold, some men were bringing ron a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on sthe roof and let him down with his bed tthrough the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 And uwhen he saw their faith, he said, “Man, vyour sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks wblasphemies? xWho can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus yperceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may know that zthe Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, aglorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they aglorified God and were filled awith awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”
27 bAfter this he went out and saw ca tax collector named dLevi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And eleaving everything, he rose and followed him.
29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company fof tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and gtheir scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, h“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 iI have not come to call the righteous jbut sinners kto repentance.”
33 And they said to him, l“The disciples of John mfast often and moffer prayers, nand so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, o“Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 pThe days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and qthen they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old rwineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”30
1 sOn a Sabbath,31 while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples tplucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, u“Why are you doing vwhat is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” 3 And Jesus answered them, w“Have you not read xwhat David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and took and ate ythe bread of the Presence, ywhich is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” 5 And he said to them, z“The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
6 On another Sabbath, ahe entered the synagogue band was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees cwatched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, dso that they might find a reason to accuse him. 8 But ehe knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, fis it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And gafter looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And hhe did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with ifury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
12 In these days jhe went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, khe called his disciples land mchose from them twelve, whom he named napostles: 14 Simon, owhom he named Peter, and pAndrew his brother, and pJames and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and qMatthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called rthe Zealot, 16 and sJudas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
17 And the came down with them and stood on a level place, with ua great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of vTyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. wAnd those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd xsought to touch him, for ypower came out from him and healed them all.
20 And zhe lifted up his eyes on his disciples, aand said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for byours is the kingdom of God.
21 c“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.
d“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when epeople hate you and when they fexclude you and revile you and gspurn your name as evil, hon account of the Son of Man! 23 iRejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for jso their fathers did to the prophets.
24 k“But woe to you who are rich, lfor you mhave received your consolation.
25 “Woe to you who are full now, for nyou shall be hungry.
“Woe to oyou who laugh now, ofor you shall mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you, pwhen all people speak well of you, for qso their fathers did to rthe false prophets.
27 “But I say to you who hear, sLove your enemies, tdo good to those who hate you, 28 ubless those who curse you, spray for those who abuse you. 29 vTo one who wstrikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic32 either. 30 xGive to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And yas you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
32 z“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And aif you blend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But clove your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and dyou will be sons of ethe Most High, for fhe is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 gBe merciful, even as hyour Father is merciful.
37 ij“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; jforgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 kgive, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put linto your lap. For mwith the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
39 He also told them a parable: n“Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 oA disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is pfully trained will be like his teacher. 41 iWhy do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but qdo not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
43 “For rno good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for seach tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 tThe good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces uevil, vfor out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
46 w“Why xdo you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 yEveryone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.33 49 zBut the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and athe ruin of that house was great.”
1 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, bhe entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant34 who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion35 heard about Jesus, che sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, d“He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us eour synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, fdo not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But gsay the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, hhe marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such ifaith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
11 Soon afterward36 he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, jthe only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, khe had compassion on her and lsaid to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched mthe bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, narise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus37 ogave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and pthey glorified God, saying, q“A great prophet has arisen among us!” and r“God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
18 stThe disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one uwho is to come, or vshall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one uwho is to come, or vshall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour whe healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and xon many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: ythe blind receive their sight, the lame walk, zlepers38 are cleansed, and athe deaf hear, bthe dead are raised up, cthe poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is dnot offended by me.”
24 When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus39 began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out einto the wilderness to see? fA reed shaken by the wind? 25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. 26 What then did you go out to see? gA prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,
h“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 (iWhen all the people heard this, and jthe tax collectors too, they declared God just,40 jhaving been baptized with kthe baptism of John, 30 lbut the Pharisees and mthe lawyers nrejected othe purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,
“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’
33 For John the Baptist has come peating no bread and qdrinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come reating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, sa friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet twisdom is justified by all her children.”
36 uOne of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37 vAnd behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wwiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If xthis man were ya prophet, he zwould have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred adenarii, and the other fifty. 42 bWhen they could not pay, he ccancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; dyou gave me no water for my feet, but eshe has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 fYou gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to gkiss my feet. 46 hYou did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, iwhich are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, j“Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among41 themselves, k“Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, l“Your faith has saved you; mgo in peace.”
1 Soon afterward he went on nthrough cities and villages, proclaiming and obringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also psome women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: qMary, called Magdalene, rfrom whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and sJoanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them42 out of their means.
4 tAnd when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 u“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, vit withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among wthorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded xa hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, y“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, z“To you it has been given to know athe secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so bthat ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 cNow the parable is this: The seed is dthe word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not ebelieve and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it fwith joy. But these have no root; they gbelieve for a while, and in time of testing hfall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but ias they go on their way they are choked by the jcares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and kbear fruit lwith patience.
16 mn“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 oFor nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 pTake care then how you hear, qfor to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
19 rThen his mother and shis brothers43 came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those twho hear the word of God and do it.”
22 uOne day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of vthe lake.” So they set out, 23 and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on vthe lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24 And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and wrebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, xand there was a calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they ywere afraid, and they zmarveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that ahe commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
26 bThen they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes,44 which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus45 had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house cbut among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he dcried out and fell down before him and said dwith a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, eSon of fthe Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon ginto the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, h“Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into ithe abyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into jthe lake and drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting kat the feet of Jesus, lclothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed46 man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes masked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and ndeclare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd owelcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 pAnd there came a man named Jairus, who was qa ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house, 42 for he had ran only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.
As Jesus went, the people spressed around him. 43 And there was a woman twho had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her uliving on physicians,47 she could not be healed by anyone. 44 She came up behind him and touched vthe fringe of his garment, and wimmediately her discharge of blood ceased. 45 And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter48 said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that xpower has gone out from me.” 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48 And he said to her, “Daughter, yyour faith has made you well; ygo in peace.”
49 While he was still speaking, someone from zthe ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; ado not trouble bthe Teacher any more.” 50 But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” 51 And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except cPeter and dJohn and James, and the father and mother of the child. 52 And all were weeping and emourning for her, but he fsaid, “Do not weep, for gshe is not dead but hsleeping.” 53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But itaking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, jarise.” 55 And kher spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. 56 And her parents were amazed, but lhe charged them to tell no one what had happened.
1 mAnd he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 nand he sent them out to oproclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 pAnd he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, qno staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.49 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town rshake off the dust from your feet sas a testimony tagainst them.” 6 uAnd they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
7 vNow wHerod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that xJohn had been raised from the dead, 8 xby some that Elijah had appeared, and xby others that one of the prophets of old had risen. 9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And yhe sought to see him.
10 On their return zthe apostles told him all that they had done. aAnd he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. 11 When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he bwelcomed them and cspoke to them of the kingdom of God and ccured those who had need of healing. 12 Now dthe day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, e“Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” 13 But he said to them, f“You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than gfive loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 And they did so, and had them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, hhe looked up to heaven and isaid a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
18 jNow it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 And they answered, k“John the Baptist. But others say, lElijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, m“The Christ of God.”
21 nAnd he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 osaying, p“The Son of Man must qsuffer many things and rbe rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on sthe third day be raised.”
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him tdeny himself and utake up his cross vdaily and follow me. 24 For uwhoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 wFor what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For xwhoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed ywhen he comes in zhis glory and the glory of the Father and of athe holy angels. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not btaste death cuntil they see the kingdom of God.”
28 dNow about eight days after these sayings he took with him ePeter and John and James and fwent up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was galtered, and hhis clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure,50 which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him iwere heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake jthey saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three ktents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—lnot knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, ma cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And ma voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, nmy Chosen One;51 olisten to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. pAnd they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
37 qOn the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for rhe is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. 40 And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but sthey could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “O tfaithless and twisted generation, uhow long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus vrebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and wgave him back to his father. 43 And all were astonished at xthe majesty of God.
yBut while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus52 said zto his disciples, 44 “Let these words sink into your ears: zThe Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” 45 aBut they did not understand this saying, and bit was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
46 cAn argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. 47 But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side 48 and said to them, d“Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and dwhoever receives me receives him who sent me. For ehe who is least among you all is the one who is great.”
49 fJohn answered, “Master, we saw someone gcasting out demons in your name, and hwe tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, ifor the one who is not against you is for you.”
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